BP's record $4bn penalty for Gulf of Mexico tragedy approved

BP has won approval in the US for a record $4billion (£2.5billion) settlement of federal criminal charges from the Gulf of Mexico disaster, in a deal that will fuel controversy over the huge penalties being extracted from UK companies.

The oil giant still faces a multi-billion pound bill from civil claims. BP is one of a list of FTSE 100 listed companies that have been hit by large fines and forfeits in the US.

They include Standard Chartered, which last year paid $667million over sanctions-busting and money-laundering. RBS is next week expecting an even larger Libor penalty than Barclays and pharmaceuticals giant GSK was last year heavily fined over healthcare fraud.

US fines: BP is one of several FTSE 100 listed companies that have been hit by large penalties and forfeits in the United States

Critics say British companies are
being treated more harshly than US ones, including Exxon. The US oil
major was fined just $150million over Exxon Valdez in 1989, most of which it
did not have to pay because it was given credit for its own clean-up
efforts.

Union Carbide, a subsidiary of Dow
Chemical, was found not liable by a US judge last year for pollution
alleged to have been caused by a 1984 disaster in Bhopal, India.

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BP refused to comment on the issue of
possible anti-British discrimination, saying it is an international
firm that employs 22,000 people in the US.

It has pleaded guilty to 11
manslaughter counts for the workers who died, under a deal struck in
November that has this week been rubber-stamped by district judge Sarah
Vance.

The criminal settlement includes
$1.3billion in fines, surpassing the record corporate criminal penalty
of $1.2billion on drugs company Pfizer in 2009.

BP (up 0.25p at 475.9p) is paying
$500million to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused it
of misleading investors over the amount of oil spewing into the water.

In addition to the criminal
settlement, it is also in line for a multi-billion dollar tab for
federal civil damages and claims for economic losses by US states in a
case to be heard next month. It is paying around $8billion to the
Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, which has brought claims for individuals
and small firms.

Luke Keller, a vice president of BP
America, said: ‘BP understands and acknowledges its role in that
tragedy, and we apologise – BP apologises – to all those injured and
especially to the families of the lost loved ones.’

But Judge Vance said she thought BP bosses should have personally apologised to bereaved family members ‘out of basic humanity.’